Former Griswold star raised the bar at Elms

By Jimmy Zanor jzanor@norwichbulletin.com

Sunday

Aug 12, 2018 at 9:04 PMAug 12, 2018 at 9:04 PM

Griswold softball coach Rick Arremony remembered a ball that Elizabeth Olszewski hit during batting practice. Arremony’s pregame routine included pitching to his players, who stood just past first base along the right field line so the balls could be sprayed towards the outfield. “She hit one off the centerfield light pole and onto the pavilion behind the fence,” Arremony said. “To this day, no ball has been hit higher or farther.”Arremony wasn’t surprised when Olszweski’s hitting exploits continued at Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts. She had a record-breaking career with the Blazers, touched by special, legendary moments that were almost Roy Hobbs-like in their scope.In her freshman year, Olszewski made the last defensive out in the league championship game, sending her team to the NCAAs. There was her 6-for-6 performance at the plate after her father, Chris, threw out the ceremonial first pitch on Senior Day. And there was her home run on her last collegiate at-bat, slugged not far from Fenway Park.“We called her The Franchise,” said longtime Elms softball coach Cheryl Condon. Growing up in Canterbury, Elizabeth idolized her baseball-playing older brothers, Chris and Kenny. “They were always my role models,” she said. “I kept watching all of their games. They played with so much heart. I always tried to be in their shoes one day. I threw and worked a lot with them and my dad through the years.”Olszewski became enamored with the game of baseball. Not softball. “She wasn’t going to play softball,” Arremony recalled. “She was really into baseball in the seventh and eighth grade. She’d be at the baseball field watching her brothers play. But then she started to come over and watch our practices and began playing with us. She picked it up right away. You could tell she was going to be good. She had all the skills, the bat speed, the quick hands through the zone.”Olszewski, who bats right-handed, played first base for the Wolverines. Her teams had regular season records of 18-2, 17-3, 15-5, and 16-4 over her four years while reaching the Class M state quarterfinals twice.During her senior year in 2014, Olszewski played alongside three classmates who also enjoyed outstanding four-year college careers: Kirsten Drobiak (Springfield), Italia Krick (Mitchell), and Kasey Ayer (Nichols).Elms, a small, Catholic liberal arts college that competes in the Division III New England Collegiate Conference, proved to be the perfect fit for Olszewski. “Going from Griswold, being a small school, I wanted something that was small and I wanted to be somewhat close to home,” Olszewski said.Elms also had a school of nursing.At 13, she watched her grandfather battle, suffer and die from lung cancer. A few years later, her grandmother was also diagnosed with cancer.“My family took care of her and I was able to help more because I was a little older,” Olszewski said. “I realized that’s (nursing) what I wanted to do. It was tough to go through that with my grandparents but it made me a better person and drove me to what I’m doing now.”Her pursuit of a nursing degree coincided with an assault on Elms’ batting records. Condon, a Hall of Fame coach who has amassed the most victories among any coach in Elms’ athletics history during her 33-year career, recruited Olszewski to play third base.“She was so athletic and had a great arm,” Condon said. “She had a flawless swing. She was a high caliber player, for sure.”The transition, however, from first to third during her freshman year wasn’t easy. There were a couple of overthrown balls to first base. “Coach Condon could tell I was nervous, especially learning a new position,” Olszewski said. “She told me to calm down, have fun, and go out and do your thing.”Olszewski started at third as a freshman, helping the Blazers win the NECC championship en route to the school’s fourth NCAA appearance. She even made the final out in the 1-0 win over Becker in the NECC tourney final, throwing a strike to first after fielding a grounder.The following week, Elizabeth watched her brother Ken, now a senior at Mitchell College, win a NECC baseball title. “That was a special moment,” she said. “It was a good experience to share with him.”It is an Elms softball tradition for the senior parents to throw out the first pitch on Senior Day. Olszewski was the Blazers’ only senior and after catching her dad Chris’s ceremonial toss, she celebrated by going 6-for-6 with a three-run home run and 9 RBIs in a doubleheader sweep over Dean.“It was an emotional moment for both of us,” Elizabeth said. “My dad was always taking me out and practicing with me. He’d come home late from work and I’d say, ‘Hey Dad, do you want to go hit?’ And no matter how tired he was he’d still go out there. It was special for him to throw out the first pitch. That day was the cherry on the cake for my dad.”Condon remembered something else about that Senior Day. It was Olszewski’s speech before the game.“I was humbled and awestruck when she spoke that day,” Condon said. “Her words came from the heart. The sentiments she showed for her teammates and the love she has for her family brought tears. I was so proud of her.” A few weeks later, Olszewski provided a perfect ‘cherry-on-the-top’ for her career.Elms trailed Newbury, 3-1, in the NECC tournament quarterfinals when Olszewski led off the top of the sixth by crushing a home run over the left center-field fence at Hellenic Diamond in Brookline (Mass.). It was her last collegiate at-bat.“I just went up there with the same mentality, just try to put a run up on the board, do something to try and help the team out,” Olszewski said. “It was too late in the game and after that we couldn’t get anything but ending your college career like that was special too.”She batted .423 with a career-high eight home runs and 37 RBIs as a senior, and was an All-NECC first team selection. She also earned NECC All-Academic honors.Olszewski had one of the best softball careers in Elms College history. She broke a 26-year-old record for most home runs with 23. She also became the program’s all-time leader in doubles (36) and RBIs (115).“If someone asked me my freshman year if I was going to be the leader…no, I didn’t picture that for myself,” Olszewski said. “I just went in and tried to make my mark on the team and tried to become part of the team. I was getting used to the new position at third base and as the years went on I got more and more comfortable.”Olszewski graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree. She was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. She was also chosen as the Elms Senior Female Athlete of the Year.“She’s one of those players that keeps me coming back every season,” Condon said. “She was so focused. She constantly worked on her game and never took a shortcut in practice. She was a leader and made everyone around her work harder to get better. She was a true definition of a student-athlete. I really enjoyed coaching her and getting to know her amazing family.”

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